Goldenrod City - Lance
Once Layla leaves, Lance pulls on a mask of professionalism and turns back to the other agents just starting to gather. He lets his father take charge and divy them up where they need to go, some won't be staying in the city; instead traveling to places all over Kanto that were hit by the team. Despite his body's protests to take a rest, Lance has a long weekend ahead of him and he needs a good head start if he wants to start putting this on the backburner to focus on the championships coming up.
His eyes scan the ever growing crowd and land on the two he and Layla spoke with earlier, Lyra and Silver. He then pivots to look at Aaron, the man standing beside Wesley as they discuss their game plan, wondering if the two have met. It just struck him the familial ties the two have and he's an idiot for not doing something sooner.
"Aaron," he walks over, his voice hushed as the other man steps away from giving orders. "Have you spoken with Silver yet?"
The man starts and glances over to find the boy sitting near the emergency personnel and his eyes widen. "Not yet, no."
"He and I aren't, like, good friends. But I can go with you?" Lance volunteers, and feels stupid for saying it outloud.
Aaron smiles at him, a gentle one, and nods. "Let's go."
The two move through the throng of agents and police officers, all getting their orders and trying to carry them out. Lance's heart pounds against his chest and he can't recognize why, this boy has no connection to Serena, he doesn't know where she is or even who she is besides what's on her public profile. Perhaps his missing her is starting to make him crazy...
"Stop right there," Silver states before turning around, his eyes blaze like his namesake. Lance can see Serena in them. "You can talk from this distance, what do you want?"
Aaron pauses, reading his posture and taking in his general features, the same strong nose and harsh brow line that runs in the family on his face. He sees his brother in his younger years before their mother forced them into the life of crime and Giovanni decided to thrive. He also sees himself, a boy pushing against the fate of his family, trying to figure out his own path and struggling between right and wrong.
"Silver," he starts and tries to tone down his smile. "I'm Aaron, your uncle."
His eyes flash and he sneers. "Yeah? And? Do you think I'm going to run into your arms?"
Behind him, Lyra shakes her head as if she'd been hoping for a different reaction, but her own eyes gleam at Aaron.
What a good friend, Lance hides his smile. The way she watches Silver is much like how he would watch Serena at her conferences, giving speeches to rally people together or educate or petition for change. If Silver doesn't want anything to do with Aaron, he bets Lyra will be the one pushing him to reach out after this.
"No, but I'm letting you know there's more to your family than Team Rocket," Aaron replies in a calm voice. His back straight and his voice even, Lance feels dumb yet again for now warning him of the boys attitude. Though they're working on the burglary would have clued him in... "I know you're in the running for the tournament. You must be going to Blackthorn for your last badge, if you would like, my wife and I live not far from the Pokemon Center. Here," he turns to take his card out of his pocket. Silver doesn't move to take it, his eyes never leaving Aaron's, and Lyra steps forward to take the card. "Just ask for directions to our house."
"You don't have the same last name," Lyra comments, staring at the G-men card.
"I took my wife's," Aaron grins again, showing his pearly whites. "Wanted to get away from the Rocket Legacy."
"Pathetic," Silver spits. "You ran from it? When you could have taken it down from the inside? Team Rocket is filth, my father is filth."
Aaron doesn't flinch, but Lance does, at the pure hatred in his voice. The ice in his eyes showcasing the fury he holds for his father and their family legacy.
"I understand," Aaron nods. "I also understand that you won't know what that entails, what I already have sacrificed to get away from it. If I'd known my brother had you, I would have done something sooner. If you ever want to know more, and eventually take down Team Rocket, our door is always open. Your friends may come as well."
Lyra nods her head in return to his invitation, her eyes bright as Silver scoffs and turns away. He stalks off past the police and into the crowd, his blood red hair disappearing within seconds of him leaving. She turns to the two men before her and heaves a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry about that," she says, pocketing the card. "I'm glad you came up to him though. He needs this, he's incorrigible and I think getting his butt kicked will help. I'll try and get him to visit."
"I appreciate it," Aaron grins. "And I mean it, you can come too. And I believe there's another person in your group?"
"Yeah, Ethan!" she perks up. "We'll do our best to get him to go. Until then, thanks."
They wave her off and Lance sulks as Aaron makes his way back to the circle of agents left to gather reports from witnesses. The hub of voices and sirens grates against Lance's senses, the rollercoaster of today starting to catch up with him, and he heaves a sigh. He should go back to Mahogany Town, help the team there gather everything they can about what Archer was doing. There's bound to be some sort of answer among the ruin of today.
They'll just have to sort through it.
"Don't look so downtrodden," Aaron comments, patting Lance's back. "He'll come around."
"It's not just that," Lance heaves a sigh. "A lot happened today, I gotta go back to Mahogany and then file the report later and sift through everything we find today..."
"Or," Aaron chides, crossing his arms. "You can take it easy, file your report with me and head home."
"Fat chance."
Aaron laughs. "I tried. Okay, let's do this report and I'll join you for Mahogany. Your father wants to finish the stuff here with Jenny and Juniper. You and I can explore the shop, then head home for the night. Tomorrow you can sift through everything and hopefully Layla has some insights on her end as well."
Lance stiffens at the mention of her name. He really needs to make it up to her, today was a whole plate of shit she didn't sign up for. He hadn't meant to attack the man using Ryu, and he definitely will have a talk with his pokemon later to apologize for it. In his rage, he just couldn't stop himself from making the man hurt as if he were the entirety of Team Rocket. Considering it was a Hyper Beam, a light one at that, compared to what Lance feels about them; he got off easy.
Still, it doesn't lessen the fear in Layla's voice when she said his name. The image probably won't leave her mind for weeks if they're lucky. Guilt rampages in his chest, he's responsible for those images, that man's life and he nearly did him away with the snap of his finger and use of his pokemon. Ryu has been his partner long enough to know not to harm others, even if Lance gives the order. Hyper Beam will leave nasty scars and burns on the poor man...
"Son," Wesley grasps his shoulder suddenly.
Lance looks up at his father, the fear clear in his eyes before he can banish them. When his father realizes it, he opens his mouth but Lance shakes his head first. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Come by the house tonight," Wesley amends, putting both hands on his shoulders. "Whatever it is, your mother and I will want to hear it."
"I-I can't," Lance looks away. "You won't like it."
"Yeah, I've been your father for a while. You've done plenty of things I didn't like, but I still love and support you," Wesley pulls at him, his voice hard.
Lance grimaces, would he still say that if he knew? What a monster his son could be? How he had hoped the man would be hurt worse? As if Serena could come back then.
Her name wrenches him from his father's grip, what would she think?
"Come by." His father's voice commands, it's an order or they'll find him no matter where he is.
"I will," he concedes. This will eat him up if he doesn't at least try and face it.
"Go home, shower, change. Your mother will have food ready for you," Wesley says. "It'll be okay, son."
Lance doubts it, but his desire to visit the shop and do everything else on the list diminishes and he calls on Era, his newest Dragonite, to fly him home. She's smaller than Ryu in height but bulky and strong in her own manner. She almost reminds him of Wynn, Serena's pokemon, with how quick she can be and how small she is compared to his other pokemon. She's not a runt though, and while Wynn was tiny and looked frail, she was anything but.
He smiles at the thought of the dragon type, he wonders if Serena still goes on long flights with her, practicing their aerial techniques and speed.
Era greets him kindly, bumping her head against his and cooing as though they haven't seen each other in weeks. He smiles at the gesture, rubbing under her chin and down towards her back, and realizes he should probably be spending more time with his pokemon. Training hasn't been consistent and he's a fool to think it won't affect his battling.
"Let's go home," he sighs and she perks up.
Once at the house, Lance releases his pokemon on the estate, glad to see them eager to disappear into the forest well beyond the gardens to relax. Ryu, however, stays put at the foot of the patio steps, his eyes knowing and churning.
Lance inhales and holds it for a few seconds before exhaling and trotting down the steps to meet his pokemon on even ground. He stares up at the dragon type with sorrow in his eyes, wondering what was going through his head when the command came to attack a human. They've been together since the beginning and Lance finds it hard to face his pokemon after today, it feels like a betrayal of the promise they made when they were younger.
To protect people and grow strong.
"I'm sorry," he states after a bit of silence. "I shouldn't have done it. I'm so sick of Team Rocket, I hate that they're always causing trouble here and there's always so much pain left in their wake. It's not an excuse, and it should be the reason I don't stoop to their level. Thank you for doing as I said but lessening the impact of the attack."
Ryu growls, a sound deep in his chest, as his wings perk up and the pokemon leans forward. He's angry and ensures Lance knows this. Dragonite are incredibly loyal and intelligent, only with an uncontrolled Outrage destroy their unwillingness to harm other beings. Today, Lance commanded the pokemon to do so and it was their bond that made the pokemon follow through.
"I won't do it again... Unless you think we should," he adds at the end, trying to lighten the mood.
His pokemon huffs, the growling stopping and his wings relaxing as he takes in his trainer. His eyes seem to gauge him, measuring the genuity in his words and wondering if he can go back to trusting the man to stay at his side.
Whatever he sees, he deems it worthy and leans down to nuzzle Lance. The way his shoulders droop and he presses his weight into him tells his trainer that he's tired, that he didn't like what happened today and he just wants things to relax so they can train again.
Lance swallows whatever emotion threatens to bubble up and hugs his pokemon back. "I promise we will start training this week. I just gotta get through the mountains of paperwork after this and then we're free to disappear into the mountains."
"Brrao!" his pokemon crows towards the sky, the fire in his eyes shining bright.
Lance leaves him like that and scurries inside to shower and change.
After a few paychecks from the League, Lance bought this house to reflect the success he had in becoming an Elite Four member after a failed Champion battle. Would he do it again with the humility he has now?
Probably.
The house, like a lot of the others in Blackthorn, has stucco and stone siding throughout the exterior. Made to look elegant and, yet in Lance's opinion, a little cold to those passing by. Wrought iron fencing keeps prying eyes out of his small front yard, only offering them a mere preview of the home. The lush grasses, baleful willows, spikey pines and shrubbery dotting his modest front lawn was picked out by his mother.
'A feminine touch', she had said when he asked why she wanted to redo his lawn.
In the end, he ended up agreeing as it was in rough shape.
The sprawling estate has most of its space in the back. A couple acres of dense wood hiding a pond, dissipates into a lively garden filled to the brim with lush flowers and plants. His mother, and sometimes her friends, come by to help him keep it up. A project he finds oddly satisfying and helpful on rough days. Though, when his mother's friends are over they're often trying to pawn off their sons or daughters to him.
His sudden smile stops when Rowan's face flashes across his mind. She comes by too, hoping to help him add vegetables and berries to his garden.
Serena's mother is as lovely as the flowers in his garden. And, just as gentle as petals, with the way she'll still come by and try to ease Lance's anxiety. He loves her, but it's such a struggle to face her.
He continues past the entryway, his boots smacking against the tile floors and flinches at their echoes.
He hates its hollow sound and today is even worse.
In the shower, he welcomes the hot water pouring over him, the heat soothing his muscles. The swirling thoughts of today fall back into nothing as he thinks about visiting his parents; it feels like too much. Like it will make everything real, and something he has to acknowledge verbally and physically.
He has to go, otherwise they'd just bring the food here and spend the night. And that would be even more unbearable.
He'd much rather pass out and forget about today until tomorrow.
He loves his parents, they've been supportive and loving throughout his reign as Champion and transition into the G-men. Sometimes he feels like they want to say more, or do more, and bring up what happened in the past. There are times he wants them to, he wants to fight about it, wants them to confirm that he fucked up and is an absolute idiot.
Then there are times he can't even bear the thought of Serena, the last time he saw her and the way his parents were disappointed with him the rest of the night...
After his shower, he stares at his swollen eye in the mirror. It will be black and blue for a while, he knows that. It's pulsing hasn't abated one bit since earlier, even with his adrenaline putting off the pain of it until now. He'll have to ice it tonight and take some pills to ease the swelling and pain. Something his mother will be sure to remind him about.
As he returns to his room, his energy increases enough to actually feel like seeing his parents and putting in the effort to talk about Mahogany Town. He changes into sweats, a t-shirt and a thicker coat with boots. Ryu meets him at the door, ready to visit his parents for pampering.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."
The smell of broth, roasted meat and fried dough hits Lance's nostrils as he enters his parents house. Ryu flies around back to stand on the patio to demand the love and attention he always gets when he comes over. His house isn't that far, just a couple blocks into town, but too close to other houses that Lance doesn't come around often as much as he invites his parents over.
"Hi, Lancelot," Kaida greets with a warm smile.
She reaches up to kiss his cheek, her bright blue eyes shimmering at him as she takes in his pale complexion and stubble. It's been a while since she's seen him so unkempt, the league's assistants usually have him squared away and clean, but this feels more like her son. He's always been the kind to work himself to the bone, but bounce back with some trouble or unexpected vacations.
Though, the latter hasn't happened in a long time...
"You should sit," she gestures to the island in the kitchen.
His father stands outside, visible through the windows in the dining room, giving food to their pokemon and offering some to Ryu who happily complies. Lance rolls his eyes at his pokemon, big and scary the whole day until Grandpa offers him something. Then he's on his back begging for love.
"You don't look good," his mother continues. "Your eye will need ice, but I also mean in general. You still have stuff at home for pain?"
He scoffs, doing as she bade and sitting at the island. "Yes, I do. Thanks, mom."
"Honey, I mean it," she turns to face him. The gleam in her eyes is gone, replaced with something more sober. "I'm worried about you."
"I know," he glances away. "I just haven't felt like... myself."
"You certainly don't seem like it," she agrees. "What can we do to help you?"
"I... I don't know," he mutters. "Nothing feels right anymore."
She opens her mouth to say more, but in comes Wesley shedding his jacket and boots in the hopes of staving off the cold. He greets his son with a fond hair ruffle, and a kiss on his wife's cheek that has Lance aching for something similar. The smell of the food pulls his concentration from the topic he and his mother were broaching; it's so easy for him to talk with her, even his dad. He just doesn't feel worthy of admitting it to them. How terrible of a son they have...
An unspoken conversation happens between the two parents and Wesley gathers some bowls from the cupboard. He fills the bowl with broth, soba noodles and then the veggies and meats they prepared as a side. When he's finished he sets it down in front of Lance, his eyes warm as he takes in his son, and grins.
"Eat first, we'll talk after."
Lance nods, pushing away his discomfort to dig into the feast put before him. The broth is a perfect balance to the tender meat and soft veggies. The noodles were cooked to perfection and Lance's chopsticks can't move fast enough to shovel them in his appetite as of late has been lackluster, but one whiff of his mom's food has him getting seconds. He missed his mother's cooking, most of her dishes could be considered comfort food for him.
Attending their own meals, his parents watch him through the corners of their eyes, not wanting to draw attention to his behavior. It's been weeks since he's visited and they've been worried sick, wondering just what could keep him so busy. Of course, they already know of his guilt concerning Serena, anyone who wasn't a fool knows.
Ever since that night, he's been on edge and closed off to everyone, it was a hard month before he was close to his normal self. At first, they were glad he had decided it was time to own up to what he'd done, what he'd said, and start the new year as the Champion. Now, after a couple years in the position, they're unsure if this change was for the best.
"So," Wesley starts when they've finished their meal and packed up the leftovers in the fridge. Lance starts the dishes in the sink while his mother cleans the countertops and his father organizes the dried dishes from the last meal. "What's eating you?"
"Wes," Kaida hisses, glaring at him over her shoulder.
Lance freezes in his cleaning and offers his mom a small smile. "It's okay. I think it'd be easier to say when my hands are busy."
"My love, I know what I'm doing," Wesley replies with a wink.
She rolls her eyes, flushing a little as she turns back to her work, muttering under her breath.
Lance takes a deep breath. "I... used Ryu to attack a man today."
Kaida drops the spray bottle she was using and Wesley sets down a plate meant for the cupboard in front of him to stare at his son. Lance's shoulders droop as he scrubs a dish, his eyes misting as he explains the situation in Mahogany, Archer's questions and torture of Layla too. He forces himself to remain calm throughout it all, crying about it won't make it go away and he has to be able to at least admit that he knows it was wrong.
"Oh, honey," Kaida glances between her son and her husband. "I-I... I understand the anger you felt today. And how that clouded your judgement-"
"But?" Lance sets down the last dish and turns to them. His eyes hard as he glances between the two.
"There's no but," she shakes her head. "Team Rocket is difficult to deal with, Aaron and your father know that. I'm not excusing what you did, however, I thought it was going to be an innocent man."
"Mom," Lance blinks in surprise. "I used a pokemon, Hyper Beam, on a man."
"And I'm disappointed it got that far," she replies and he flinches. "You're better than that, but we've seen in the past that your anger can make you do horrible things."
Now he flinches as if she struck him and his father stands at his side, placing a hand on his shoulder while addressing his wife. "And you were chastising me earlier?"
"Honey, please," Kaida steps forward with a slight twinkle in her eye. "Lance knows this already, don't you?"
Lance nods. "I just... Am I a monster? Why do I always want to hurt other people?"
Wesley squeezes his shoulder. "Absolutely not, hyper beam or not. It was a mistake. You feel guilty about it, that says enough. Plus Ryu is a great pokemon, you said so yourself, it wasn't full power."
"It just feels gross," he shudders, remembering the look on the man's face when he ordered his pokemon to attack.
"Good. It should. That's what power over a helpless being feels like and some people love that. Most of the members of Team Rocket being one of them," Wesley urges. "That's why you're not a bad person, you can recognize the feeling as being wrong. And I know you won't do it again."
"Lance, what do you want us to do? Yell at you? Press charges?"
"No, I just... I... I don't know what I want..."
"You didn't kill the man, and you said Ryu didn't use full force," Kaida replies.
"No, he had more sense than I did and used a small beam," he sighs. "My pokemon has better control than me."
"That's how a lot of pokemon are," Wesley snorts. "Son, we're not going to make you a monster here. You're still young and bound to make a mistake like you did today. The best thing is to accept it and move on. Don't let it happen again."
It doesn't feel like enough, but then again, Lance isn't sure what he wanted. Did he want to be tossed out of the house? Banished from the clan? Anything to get out of here and the feeling of being stuck without... her.
"Still no word from Serena, though, I expect she saw what happened here and will more than likely contact her father or any of us to know," Wesley reads the sorrow on his face.
"It won't be me..."
At his muttered words, his parents share a similar look of pain and anguish. It's a complicated situation between the two and while they can't blame Serena, they just wish she would let Lance know she's okay. If she knew what he looked like, the shell of the person he's become, they know she'd do something.
"Son-"
"Let me give you my report," he sits up. "I need some time to clear my head. I gotta talk to Layla tomorrow too. I'll come back for dinner."
Kaida perks up at that and offers a small smile, putting a hand on her husband's arm as he's about to argue. "Okay, honey."
Lance gives an official version of what happened, including every detail so that his father can make note of it. The only reason Layla will be able to give her report late is because Lance was there for everything and, so, they know her version won't differ much. In addition, they all know Archer isn't the biggest fan of her and it's best to let her recoup without exposing her to the situation again and again.
Towards the end, Lance feels lighter about the attack and while it will hang in the back of his mind for a while yet, he can rest easy knowing his parents aren't about to disown him. His mind spins with fatigue as he wishes his parents goodbye and calls on Ryu to take them home. The frigid air keeps him up for the flight home and once he's inside, he slips under the covers and lets sleep overtake him immediately.
OoOoO
The next day Lance's mood brightens marginally and it's only for the fact that Layla messaged him that she made a bunch of brunch foods for her and Morty and she has some waiting for him. He felt full after yesterday's dinner, but woke up with an appetite for more. So, after getting ready he and Ryu take off for Ecruteak, his bag with him and his list of things to do today slightly jumbled.
Mahogany is his main concern, if they found something in the shop he wants the full details of it. They're lagging behind on some discovery Team Rocket made and they need to catch up before they find whatever it is first. He tries not to let his mind wander to the possibility of Serena in danger. His heart squeezes at the thought, does she have the answers? What if they stumble upon her first?
He forces the thoughts away, the fear threatens to take over and freeze him where he sits unable to move or speak. Whatever the case, he can't stand being behind on what's happening in both regions and if Archer was asking questions about Serena's past, he's going to have to follow some old leads.
Ecruteak greets him with snow covered streets, gray overcast and a chilly wind he feels right down to his bones. Winter in the northern part of the region is always bitingly cold, he wishes Layla would have gone home to Olivine to have brunch.
Would have been more pleasant there than here.
"Hi Lance," Layla greets him at the door. "Come on in."
He thanks her, sliding off his boots and padding down the hallway after her. The smell of eggs, bacon and something sweet fills the house. Pulling him into a warm embrace that chases off the chill from outside.
"Morning," he greets Morty as the man finishes pouring tea for the three of them. "Thanks."
"Thanks for watching out for her," he replies, gesturing to Layla with a jerk of his chin.
He waves it off, a small wave of guilt roiling in his stomach remembering what else she saw at the shop. Does that make up for covering her body with his to stave off Erebus? He hadn't done it to repay what he'd done, he did it because of their friendship. He affirms this to himself when he piles his plate with two bacon and egg burritos, a fruit and berry salad and a couple crepes.
His mouth waters as he sits across from the two, and takes a few bites to settle his hunger as they get comfortable. In his peripheral vision, he can see that Layla looks much better today even with the scrapes and scratches. No tears, her hair has been neatly braided and she's glowing...
Oh, he tries not to choke on his drink.
He's seen that glow before, Serena had it the day after they had sex, it tinges their skin with a slight flush and they look so much more relaxed. He tries to keep his grin inward as he sips at the tea, a nice mix of sweet with a bite of spice towards the end. It sends warmth into his body.
"So, I did my report yesterday and don't think yours will be necessary unless you want to add something," he slides a paper across the table to her. "I mostly just came by to see how you're doing."
She smiles faintly at him while she reads his report. There's a grimace not long into reading, but she finishes it with a shrug. "Yeah, pretty much what happened. I'm not too concerned with adding anything."
He nods. "I figured."
It falls silent as he gobbles the food on his plate and helps himself to another plate. The other two chat idly with each other, unbothered by Lance's presence and yet welcoming of him by asking a few questions here and there. In the beginning of their friendship, when Lance would come over or Layla would visit him, Morty was much more reserved. It made the other man feel bad, like he was crossing boundaries and even offered to the both of them that he only comes over when Morty is around.
Layla agreed to it if Morty did, but the latter explained that it was his own issues and nothing the two of them had to worry about. He trusts them and that was that.
This time, Morty definitely seems more relaxed and Lance is grateful Layla has that effect on him. Whether it was whatever she did last night or just her loving nature working its magic on him, he doesn't care. It's about time Morty moved on from Whitney and got himself someone good for him.
And I almost ruined that... he forces the thought away and leans back in his seat.
"I'm sorry, Layla," he blurts out.
She glances over at Morty, her brows furrowing slightly and he responds by nodding imperceptibly and excuses himself to check on the pokemon in the backyard. Lance feels a weight lift from his shoulders seeing him leave. They may be friends, but he's also Morty's boss. He doesn't want to blur the lines anymore than he already has, plus he feels so ashamed by what happened and Morty's opinion matters.
"I haven't told him much yet," she informs him with a small smile. "I figured you would be...unhappy about what you did."
"Thank you," he exhales. He really doesn't deserve a friend like her. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have done it and, worse, made you witness it. If he'd actually... It would have cost your peace of mind and I should have thought of that."
She smiles at him. "I have to admit I was terrified when you did. I replayed the moment in my head a few times yesterday. In the end, I realize that what I would do to Archer in that position would probably be the same. I know you're not intent on murdering people, and I can rest easy knowing that. Thank you for apologizing, I really appreciate it."
He can't hold her stare and turns away, blinking away any tears in his eyes, why is everyone being so gentle? Shouldn't they be pissed?
"Lance, you do know you're worthy of forgiveness, right?" She leans forward. "As soon as I saw that man had burns on his chest, but was very much alive. I knew I could forgive you. I think what you did was rash, and maybe you deserve a break from everything because its getting to your head, but I don't not want to be your friend."
"I just... feel like I'm always let off easily," he admits, glancing down at his lap. "I think that's why Serena left. She did so much for me, covered for me and..." he closes his eyes, he remembers all the women she took care of on his behalf. The way she stood up for him no matter how deep a hole he made for himself, she pulled him out of it. Gave him the Champion's position for Arceus's sake.
And he shoved her away to another place far away from him.
"I don't know about before, but since I've known you, you've been nothing but determined," she answers. "For me, you've ensured Archer hasn't killed me and stopped a whole volcano with your pokemon and co workers. I get that in the past things weren't as good, but continuing to punish yourself and expecting others to do the same isn't going to fix it."
"It hurts," he replies in a rasping voice. "I don't know who I was then."
"A kid," she responds. "Barely an adult before you had to abide by league rules. High on life, on the strength of you and your team. Pretty normal."
"I hurt her."
"Yes. I'm sure you broke her heart," she replies in a harder tone. "I'm sure she replays what you said in her lowest moments and it hurts all over again. And I think you do the same thing. Listen, I don't know if the pain will ever go away. If it does, I think Serena will help it do so when you help hers go away. Until then, you can't be looking for repercussions elsewhere."
He starts at that, finally looking up into her kind green eyes with his own gold ones.
She smiles again, reaching out her hand. "I don't know about you, but I think you're a great friend and... Thank you for protecting me from Erebus. I'll never forget that."
The mention of Houndoom has her voice trembling and he realizes that little act was monumental to her. He realizes the difference in their views of her fear, he saw her react to Houndoom, but it was a stressful situation because Houndoom was there. Nothing else.
He takes her hand, it feels small and cold in his own probably from the anxiety of thinking about that damn pokemon. "You're a great friend. Really. I can't believe we're friends sometimes and I'm worried I'm going to mess it up."
"No matter how dumb you get, you can't beat Eusine," she snorts. "I'm fine, you're fine. She'll be back and hopefully she'll have this mystery solved."
He perks up, releasing her hand to pull their report into his bag and grab another piece of paper. "Oh, yeah. I have questions about Archer's questions. Or rather what he said about Erebus being at your house."
Layla's eyes widen and she realizes she hasn't updated him on what she learned from Sabrina at her gym. It's a quick story to fill him in on and he even furrows his brow at the singular name and little information. He remembers Juniper looking a name up at HQ and knows it turned up empty, he also remembers Sabrina's father will be returning from his trip soon and holding down the gym for her while she takes a quick break to do her annual charity work for Saffron.
"We can talk to him together," he jots that down and underlines it. "Then, there's Mr. Fuji."
"I don't know, how was he after... that day?" she frowns, realizing she never even thought of him after that. "Did Archer hurt him?"
"No. When I brought you to the hospital, there was heavy agent presence around the area and they reported no one walking into the daycare. I kept a few agents there for a while after and then some extra police patrols went around there too."
She heaves a sigh of relief, feeling guilty at not even thinking of that at the time. "Good... Wait, does that mean you want to question him?"
"He was there, I'm sure of it," he nods. "If he won't tell me now, I'll get it out of him."
"You think he was where?"
"The reason for Serena's scars," he supplies and watches her face drop into horror. "There's a reason for those injuries. A scientist in a lab? I'm sure. Unless that lab exploded."
"I can't believe it," she gasps. How could an old sweet man like him be responsible for something so horrific? And on a little girl no less! "When do you want to go?"
"I don't know, there's so much to look through... Plus the mansion in Cinnabar," he pauses and realizes he didn't tell her his plan for that.
"You want me to what?" she raises a brow after he does so. "I've never done that before."
"That's okay. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. We have to do something. We're grasping for something to get us into the game."
Layla considers it, combining their powers with Will present would be a sinch, plus she'd get to see Sabrina in action again. And Morty. She often forgets his clairvoyance, even though it helps her daily as she loses a lot of things and he's able to find it for her, it's a subtle gift. At least at the level he uses it around the house.
"I'll do it," she nods. "Morty will too."
"I'll what now?" he comes back, Nox in tow with a splattering of mud on his face.
Layla snickers. "Help us find something."
"It would be my pleasure," Morty grins at Lance. "Now?"
"No, but soon. There's a lot of leads so I want to gather things. Plus there's the end of the year party," he remembers. "How about in the New Year?"
"Sounds good to me," she beams.
That settles it. He writes down their plans and goals before smiling at them and dismissing himself from the house. Once outside in the chilly air, he feels better, almost lighter too. Ryu must sense it as he saunters up, his wings relaxed and his face oddly gentle when he leans it against his trainer. He leans back against his pokemon, finally feeling able to breathe, before they take off towards the league to inform them of his new plans.
Plans he hopes will get them back in this game he's playing with Archer and, while he hopes not, Serena wherever she is.